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Royals agree to terms with second-round pick Reed

Royals agree to terms with second-round pick Reed

By Dick Kaegel and Kathleen Gier
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MLB.com |

KANSAS CITY -- Make it 18 Draft picks signed for the Royals after they announced Tuesday night they'd agreed to terms with second-round pick Cody Reed, a left-handed pitcher from Northwest Mississippi Community College.

"A big, physical left-handed pitcher, real strong," said assistant general manager J.J. Picollo. "From a velocity standpoint, he's from 93 to 95 [mph], which is a pretty good increase in velocity from last year to this year. He's got a breaking ball that we think is going to develop into a power slider and he's developing a feel for his changeup."

The 6-foot-5 220-pound Reed had eight victories for Northwest Mississippi and set a school record of 96 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings. He had 15 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout against Coahoma.

Signed for close to his slot figure of $1,198,500, Reed will report to minicamp at Surprise, Ariz., and then be assigned to the Idaho Falls Chukars in the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League.

He was the Royals' third choice and the 46th selection overall in the First-Year Player Draft on Thursday. Their No. 2 pick, left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea of Indiana State, has not yet signed. He was the 34th overall selection, going in the Competitive Balance Round. Manaea is headed for hip surgery, which would keep him out until next season.

The Royals had 41 selections in the Draft, which ended on Saturday.

Fifth-round selection Amalani FukoFuka, a center fielder from James Logan High School in Union City, Cal., batted .390 with 15 stolen bases and 22 runs scored.

Sixth-rounder Luke Farrell, son of Red Sox manager John Farrell, was picked 174th overall. The right-hander posted a 2.13 ERA, good for second in the Big Ten, while at Northwestern. He ranks eighth in program history with 80 strikeouts and third in opponent batting average with .202 in conference games.

Ninth-round selection Daniel Rockett, an outfielder from University of Texas at San Antonio, was picked 264th overall. He had a .328 batting average with 66 hits and 39 runs in 48 games.